


Collapse

by EternalElegy



Series: Adam Collection [3]
Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Overwork
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:20:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23699929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EternalElegy/pseuds/EternalElegy
Summary: Ibara didn't follow Anzu's advice on not overworking himself.
Relationships: Ran Nagisa/Saegusa Ibara
Series: Adam Collection [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1702468
Comments: 1
Kudos: 43





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Everything in this series is connected, so it is recommended to read the stories in order (though the first chapter is not necessary as it is NSFW).

Hiyori suddenly stopped dancing yet again and sighed. Jun walked forward to their music player to pause it.  
“Ibara.” The green-haired male put his hands on his hips.  
“What is it?”  
“Can you focus a little more?” Hiyori sounded happy as always but, Ibara knew that Hiyori was teasing him in a malicious manner.  
“I’m doing my best, Your Highness!” Ibara smiled back, his voice dripping with venom.  
“Well, you need to try a bit harder, okay? Otherwise we’ll leave you behind~”  
“Oi, Ohii-san, don’t start fights during practice.” Jun butted in.  
“Yes yes, but it’s necessary to confront the problem earlier so that it doesn’t spiral out of control, no?”

Ibara was frustrated at himself at his underperformance today, and Hiyori had a point. If he didn’t keep up with the rest of Eden, his presence would only be letting them down.  
“Actually, Ibara, you should leave now.” Hiyori turned to the red-head.  
“Why? Does my performance leave that much to be desired?”  
“Precisely! I don’t know what’s happened over the last two weeks but your movements are out of whack and you’re singing out of tune. That’s not good weather!”  
“...” Usually, Ibara had some snarky comeback up his sleeve, but his brain froze and he stood there awkwardly staring at Hiyori.  
“I think what Ohii-san’s trying to say is that you should take a break, Ibara.” Jun attempted to stop the situation from escalating. “You don’t look too good.”  
“... I agree with Jun. How about we all take a short drink break? It’s important to stay hydrated and it has been two hours.” Nagisa suggested.

Hiyori sighed, walking over to his towel to wipe his sweat. Jun headed straight for the electrolyte drink that Ibara had brought in before the commencement of the practice session. Nagisa went to take a drink as well. Ibara took off his glasses to clean them before going to use the towel.

The break was over too quickly and Ibara’s already-painful headache pounded harder than ever before as he attempted to dance and sing. Hiyori suggested that they run through the whole song just to see what it was like, and Ibara forgot the choreography on multiple occasions and even missed a cue. After it was over, Ibara was panting and struggling to stay upright as if he had just done a marathon race, while everyone else looked like they had plenty of fight left in them. Hiyori then faced Ibara, and Ibara was sure that he had never seen the green-haired man so annoyed before.  
“Is it time to resign from this practice session~?” Hiyori smiled. Ibara knew that it was there just for mockery’s sake.  
“I’ll take a moment to recover and then-”  
“Oh no, you’re not coming back today. Nagisa gave you a chance already and you threw it away.” 

“... You look like you’re in dire need of rest.” Nagisa sighed.

“You look really out of it today in general, no point in practicing if you’re going to be like that.” Jun added.  
“Hmph, I will be taking my leave.” Ibara knew when to stop fighting, the best thing he could do was to rest up and practice harder to make up, like he had been doing for the entire time he was an idol. While he had natural talent like Nagisa and Hiyori, he didn’t have the direct instruction from a genius like Jun did, plus there was always work, work and more work.

As he headed towards his belongings, he failed to hold back a wince as sharp pain pierced into his brain. Hiyori and Jun didn’t notice, already talking about the song runthrough that they just did, but Nagisa gave a glance of concern. Ibara thought that that would be the worst of it for now and prayed that he could hold out until he reached his dorm, but the room spun violently and he staggered, unable to keep his footing. Luckily Nagisa had been watching and rushed over to catch Ibara before he hit the ground.  
“Hey, are you okay?” Jun asked, but Ibara could barely hear him over the pain in his head. He had been taught to withstand torture from his days at the military facility, but this was something completely different.  
“I’m… okay…” Ibara tried, black dots appearing in his vision. When he was finally able to stand on his feet again, there was a flash of pain and suddenly he was in Nagisa’s arms again.

“Hmm, you certainly don’t look okay.” Hiyori commented, a hand on his chin.  
“... I will take you to the infirmary.” Nagisa announced, scooping Ibara up into a bridal-style carry.  
“It’s okay, Your Excellency! You don’t have to carry me in such an embarrassing way! I can… nngh… walk…”

Ibara blacked out.

* * *

The first thing Ibara noticed when he woke up was that his head was still pounding, though not as painfully as before. The second thing was that he was in a bed, and the third thing was that the room was far too brightly lit for his liking. 

“... Ibara.” It took him a moment to recognise the voice, but when he turned his head, he saw Nagisa looking down at him with what could only be read as concern… as far as he could tell with his not-so-great vision.  
“Ah… Nagisa…?” Ibara was still half asleep.  
“... Good morning. How do you feel?”  
“My head still hurts and I’m tired…” Ibara groaned, shutting his eyes to avoid the overstimulation from the lights, as they only served to make his headache worse.

“... You should rest today.” Nagisa’s soft voice was definitely making Ibara want to go back to sleep, but everything came back to him. He remembered working until ungodly hours, sleeping three hours a day, practicing alone until his voice almost went hoarse and his body ached, and then the practice session with the rest of Eden, being unable to focus, and then…  
“Ah! I have to go to work!” Ibara bolted upright in a panic and immediately regretted it as he was overcome with a dizzy spell and more pain crashed into his skull, which forced him back down onto the bed.  
“... No, you are not going to work today.” Nagisa’s gentle tone seemed to be unfitting considering he had just given a command. 

“Um… where am I?” Ibara asked suddenly after everything stopped moving around.  
“... In the infirmary.”  
“How long was I asleep for?”  
“... It’s currently 9AM, so you have been asleep for twelve hours.”  
“What about my belongings?”  
“... I took them with me. I was afraid that they may be stolen if I left them here overnight. I brought them with me when I came to visit you.”  
“Can I have them back?”  
“... No.”  
“Why not?”  
“... Didn’t I say before? You need rest.”

“But-”  
“... I don’t want you to collapse like that again. Ibara.”  
“Your Excellency! I can’t just skip-”  
“... I will let the other staff know what has happened.”  
“Can I have my phone back, at least?”  
“... No.” 

Ibara knew that there was no point arguing further. Whenever Nagisa was stubborn, Nagisa was really stubborn.  
“... Since you’re awake now, I’ll ask the nurse to get some food for you.” The white-haired male got up from his chair and walked away. Now that Ibara had some time to himself, he thought about the conversation that just happened. Nagisa had forced him to take the day off, something that he hadn’t done in a very long time (he wasn’t even sure if he had ever taken a day off), and he felt lost at the prospect of not doing anything for a day. He remembered Anzu telling him not to overwork himself, as if she were speaking from personal experience, and he had completely ignored her advice and gotten himself into this embarrassing position where his fellow unit member wasn’t letting him access his devices. Even though everything was a blur due to his poor eyesight, he could tell that Nagisa had been looking at him with worry written all over his expression. 

Nagisa returned much faster than he anticipated.  
“... Your breakfast will arrive shortly.”  
“Thank you, Nagisa.” Ibara felt himself about to fall back onto his old habit of using a title, but he managed to correct himself before speaking after realising that he and Nagisa were alone in the infirmary. When Nagisa smiled at this, Ibara felt warm inside.  
“... I like it when you use my name.” 

Ibara really wanted to show some affection, but he was in a public space, after all. Anyone could walk in at any time and it would be really bad if he was caught being intimate with anyone. Nagisa seemed to read Ibara’s mind because he slipped a hand underneath the blanket, finding Ibara’s hand and entwining their fingers together. The redhead sorely wanted to enjoy this moment and be lost in Nagisa’s gaze and fall asleep to his voice, but he knew not to get caught up in it too much. Reality was a thing and these moments would come and go as quickly as the wind, and he didn’t want to become addicted to these happy times with Nagisa. 

Nagisa squeezed Ibara’s hand. Ibara felt warmer and happier. 

* * *

Nagisa insisted on escorting Ibara back to his dorm, despite the latter’s insistence that he was completely fine. Multiple times, Ibara considered attempting to steal his bag from Nagisa during their walk, but whenever he tried to sneak glances in order to come up with a plan, Nagisa always met his eyes, giving him a disappointed look as if Ibara was a child who had just done something bad. In the end, Ibara gave up (he didn’t want to do too much thinking anyway considering his headache) and they reached their destination without event.  
“You should quickly go back, don’t you have work?”  
“... Did you forget my schedule?”  
“Admittingly, yes I have! I’ve been so busy-”  
“... It’s okay, Ibara. You’re tired, so it’s understandable that you forgot.” Nagisa petted Ibara’s head. Ibara imploded, his face turning the same shade as his hair, and Nagisa laughed softly at the reaction.

“... I am free until 12PM today, so there is no need for me to hurry. I checked my schedule with Producer-san before I came to see you.”  
“Since you said that you’d help me communicate the situation to the rest of the staff and I’m already late to work, I think it would be good to-” Ibara winced and clutched his head with one hand as his headache suddenly intensified. “... good to tell them quickly.”  
“... Okay. Please rest well. I will lock your phone and tablet in your office.” A preventative measure so that Ibara didn’t end up working in his dorm.  
“Do you know how to get in?”  
“... Yes. I have your keycard. I will go now.” 

Nagisa turned to leave. Ibara shut the door to his dorm.

Thankfully, everyone else had already left for school or work, so he was alone in their rather spacious dorm room. It was a single floored living space with a TV, a big sofa, kitchen, a bathroom and a balcony. All of the beds were in the corner, and everyone owned a double bed so there was plenty of room to stretch. As much as Ibara wanted to go straight to bed, he was still in the practice clothes from yesterday, so he opted to take a quick shower, get changed and then sleep. The warm water felt good on his body, but it made him feel groggier and the last thing he wanted was to pass out in the shower. It took way more willpower than he would have liked to get himself out of there.

Ibara felt too mentally exhausted to do anything else other than sleep, and as soon as his body hit the mattress, he was out cold until he was suddenly being carried. Adrenaline kicked in for a short moment before his body was lowered back down onto the bed, and then a blanket went over him.  
“... You will catch a cold if you don’t cover yourself.” Nagisa said, looking down onto Ibara. Ibara realised that Nagisa had just tucked him in.  
“How did you get in here?”  
“... You forgot to lock the door, I did that for you when I came in.” The redhead internally hit himself for making such a small blunder.  
“I thank you deeply, Nagisa!” Ibara still wasn’t over _getting tucked into bed_ , like he was some restless child who needed the support of a parent to go to sleep.

The white-haired male took the keycard out of his pocket and left it on the bedside table next to Ibara’s glasses. Nagisa looked at Ibara, a blush beginning to form on his features, but he quickly turned away. It was as if he wanted to do something but decided against it.  
“... I will leave now.” He finally stated.  
“Did you want something?”  
“... No, it’s okay.”  
“You want to kiss me, don’t you?” Ibara smirked as Nagisa blushed harder.  
“... Yes. I like it when we kiss.” The white-haired male finally admitted.  
“Then go ahead. Kiss me.” It sounded more like a challenge than anything, but Ibara would be lying if he said that he didn’t want it.

Nagisa climbed on top of Ibara before pressing his lips against Ibara’s. When they sat at the bench late into the night, that kiss was all sweetness, but now Nagisa’s body was looming over his, effectively trapping him. It reminded Ibara of the night he lost his virginity with Nagisa, as they kissed hungrily with their naked bodies pressed against each other, and to be honest, this position was making him at least a little excited, even if there was no intention to go any further.

Thirty minutes flew by in the blink of an eye. Even though Nagisa was the one who knew all about how to be good at kissing, he was caught up in it more than Ibara was as the latter had to be the one to remind Nagisa that he had things to do later in the day.  
“... I have two hours, so we have plenty of time.”  
“Plenty of time for?” Ibara was still breathless.  
“... I was thinking- never mind.” Nagisa cut himself off, climbing off Ibara and making sure that his hair and clothes were tidy.  
“Hmm~? What were you thinking about?” Ibara teased. Nagisa fidgeted.  
“... Don’t worry about it.”

Ibara was tempted to make a guess based on the white-haired male’s response.

“... I should be leaving you to rest.” Nagisa finally said after a long silence. “... Please sleep well, Ibara.”

Nagisa was out the door before Ibara could respond.

* * *

Ibara awoke later that afternoon to find a package of food sitting on the dining table, alongside a handwritten note. 

_To Ibara,_ _  
_ _I have left some lunch here for you. Please make sure to drink plenty of water. I met Tsumugi-kun and told him of the situation, so he allowed me to borrow a key to your dorm in order to make this delivery. Don’t worry about paying me back._  
_I will meet you at the cafeteria at dinner time to check how you are doing._ _  
_ Nagisa Ran

Nagisa even signed the note. Ibara noticed that it was what he usually got for lunch; a sandwich from the cafeteria. Now that he thought about it, he really was almost being treated like a child and Nagisa was parenting him. How the tables have turned, considering Ibara was the producer, but for some reason, he found the whole experience endearing rather than embarrassing. 

Ibara sighed and began to eat. On one hand, he wanted to go back to work as soon as possible, but on the other, he enjoyed being taken care of by Nagisa.


	2. Chapter 2

If this was a plan from the other executives of Cosmic Production to kill Ibara by overwork, it was definitely working to some extent.

He couldn’t believe that after resting for a day, he had been swamped with _even more_ work, despite Nagisa having informed the staff that he needed rest (maybe they didn’t listen to him as Nagisa was not involved in the business side of things). Upon seeing all of the texts, missed phone calls and unread emails, Ibara couldn’t help but sigh at it all. His headache hadn’t completely disappeared but considering CosPro hadn’t fully recovered since the scandal, he had to press on. He didn’t trust the rest of the executives much if at all, and if he appeared to be slacking off in any capacity, they could take Eden away from him, under the guise of reducing his workload.

There was absolutely no way in hell Ibara was going to hand over Eden. Eden was his to manage and produce alone.

As much as Ibara wanted to do some investigation on why the stacks of paper on his desk had exponentially increased in size, he would rather wait and pounce at the right moment. There was no point trying to do his good old scheming when he wasn’t in shape mentally, as everything needed to be absolutely perfect. He’d get back at those bastards later, after making a full recovery, and then he’d laugh at them as they bowed their heads in apology after being crushed.

Ibara started on the texts first, noting that Hiyori and Jun had expressed their concern for him, though he hadn’t been able to reply to them since Nagisa had locked his phone away in the office. As he was in the middle of typing a reply to Jun, he reminded himself that technically he was not supposed to be in his office as Nagisa had given clear instructions to rest for another day. He remembered talking to the rest of Eden over dinner, and even with his best efforts, Nagisa saw right through his lies and demanded that he spend another day in his room. While Nagisa was one of the greatest assets Ibara ever had, not being able to trick him at all was a pain at times. Ibara didn’t know whether he could trust Hiyori and Jun not to tell Nagisa about his current situation, so he decided not to respond to them.

Then next was the mountain of emails, and then the papers, and then avoiding Nagisa and pretending to have been resting when he met up with the rest of Eden during mealtimes… today was going to be a long day.

* * *

_A few days later…_

“It’s been ten minutes and that snake’s still not here… isn’t he always on time?” Hiyori whined, pacing around the practice room impatiently.   
“Maybe he’s just busy at work again…” Jun sighed.   
“Eden doesn’t meet up very often so we have to make use of the time as much as possible… if he’s disrespecting it by showing up late I’m going to go to his office to drag him down here!”   
“Ohii-san, you can’t just do that, he’s the vice president at CosPro, you know.”   
“Vice president or not, he’s still a part of Eden! Besides, wouldn’t he give some kind of notice to us if he needed to do something else urgently? It’s like he cheated on us with work!”   
“I don’t think that’s exactly how he feels about us and work… besides, wasn’t he already working before he created Eden?”

Nagisa listened to the Eve pair bicker as he recalled the day when Ibara collapsed, and all of the emotions that came with it.  
“... I’m going to check on him.”   
“Nagisa, you can’t just baby him all the time! He’s an adult, he can take care of himself.” Hiyori scoffed.   
“Well, he did work himself into collapse before…” Jun commented.   
“Be quiet, Jun-kun! That’s just him being stupid! He thinks he’s all high and mighty with all of those schemes but on the inside he’s a big load of- Nagisa, are you listening to me?” Hiyori cut himself off mid-rant as the leader of Eden headed to the door. 

“... I am going to Ibara’s office.” 

For some reason, Nagisa could feel a sense of dread as he made his way to the CosPro offices, which was just down the corridor from their practice room. The receptionist gave him her usual friendly smile, immediately recognising him.  
“What can I do for you today?”   
“... I am here to see Ibara.”   
“Is Saegusa-san not with you? I believe he has practice with Eden right now.”   
“... No. He hasn’t given us any notice of being late or absent.”   
“Oh, I see. In that case, he’s probably still in his office, I’ll give him a call.”   
“... Okay.”

The receptionist’s neutral expression turned into concern as the silence in between them stretched.  
“He’s not answering… perhaps he’s very busy today and doesn’t wish to be disturbed.”   
“... Eden does not meet up very often and it is important that he does not miss this practice.”   
“In that case, I can go and-”   
“... Please let me see him.” The receptionist gave Nagisa’s request a thought.   
“Alright then, if you walk in this way, go around the corner, his office is the second door on the right.” She stood up and pointed out the directions.   
“... Thank you.”   
“No problem.”

Nagisa’s hands began to grow clammy and his heartbeat increased. Being on stage in front of thousands of screaming fans was one thing, but this was a whole different level of nervousness that he had never experienced before. It unsettled him that he didn’t know what the cause of this intense feeling was.

He quickly reached the room that he was looking for, with the label on the door confirming that he was at the right place. Nagisa gave it three knocks, but there was no response from within.  
“... I’m coming in.” He announced, pushing open the door. It was a lot smaller than he had anticipated (though he supposed Ibara had no use for more space), with two chairs for guests, a rather big desk with two computer monitors and shelves filled to the brim with folders (most likely full of documents). Ibara was never the kind of person for decor so there was barely any colour to the room, but he wasn’t seated in front of his computer like Nagisa had expected.

Ibara was on the floor beside his desk, blood trickling from his forehead. 

* * *

“If Nagisa went over to Ibara’s office to get him here, he’s taking an awfully long time~” Hiyori whined.  
“Yeah… should we check on them just in case?” Jun suggested.   
“Jun-kun! Go check on them for me!”   
“Ohii-san, it’s not even a one minute walk to the CosPro offices.”   
“Yes yes, but I need to conserve energy for practice!”   
“And you’re saying that my energy is not important?”   
“Mhm! You’ll push through it like you always do!”

“Just come with me anyway.” Jun sighed, grabbing Hiyori’s wrist and marching to the door.  
“Hey, don’t be so rough with me!”   
“That’s your fault since you refused to come with me, so I’m forcing you.”   
“At least be more respectful, Jun-kun!” Hiyori yanked his wrist out of Jun’s gasp, following him out the door, but both of them froze.

Nagisa was running down the hallway towards them at full speed, Ibara in his arms. The blood on Ibara’s head told them everything and nothing at the same time.  
“What happened to Ibara?!” Hiyori cried out in alarm.   
“... I-I don’t know.” Nagisa replied, voice shaking slightly.   
“Did you call an ambulance?” Jun asked. When the leader of Eden didn’t respond, the blue-haired male dashed back into the practice room, going straight for his phone. Upon further inspection, Hiyori realised that tears were flowing freely down Nagisa’s face, his expression full of shock as he looked down on an unconscious Ibara.   
“Come on Nagisa, let’s go.” Hiyori tapped him on the shoulder, jolting him out of his thoughts.   
“... Okay.” 

Hiyori could navigate the ES building much better than Nagisa could and they made it to the main entrance quickly thanks to that, earning a couple of stares and gasps along the way.   
“How did you find him?” Hiyori asked as they reached their destination.   
“... I went to his office, and he was already on the floor when I entered.”   
“Hmm… well, we’re just waiting for the ambulance to come, so you can lay him down on the ground. There’s no need to continue carrying him.”   
“... I want to hold Ibara.” Nagisa’s voice was so soft that Hiyori had to strain to hear him, but from that response, he knew not to bother Nagisa about it.

The next few minutes went by in a blur. Jun arrived at the scene and began to talk to Hiyori, the sirens approached, and the paramedics took Ibara from Nagisa’s arms and drove away. Amongst all of the panic and emotions, Nagisa could only think about one thing; _Ibara_ .   
“-gisa, Nagisa, are you okay?” Slowly, he came back to reality, realising that Hiyori was standing in front of him, looking at him softly. Nagisa opened his mouth to respond but his throat constricted and he could only make a choked noise.   
“Everything will be okay.” Hiyori reassured, wiping away a tear with his thumb before he embraced Nagisa, who returned the hug.

Hiyori was warm, but it wasn’t Ibara’s warmth.

* * *

Anzu put her computer to sleep, taking out the sandwich that she had bought from the cafeteria earlier that morning before she heard a knock at her office door right as she was about to dig in. 

“Come in!” She called, putting down her food, and when she saw who her visitor was, she knew exactly what it was all about. Nagisa appeared, bags under his reddened eyes, his wavy hair messier than usual. He looked clearly exhausted.   
“Here, take a seat,” Anzu gestured to one of the chairs opposite her desk, and the idol wordlessly sat down. “This is concerning Saegusa-san, right?” 

Nagisa looked at her with all the worry in the world, and replied with a small nod.   
“Okay.” Anzu took a deep breath. “I called them up this morning and they said that Saegusa-san got a concussion. However, he had a high fever too, so they’re trying to find out the cause of it. They said that he’ll most likely be hospitalised for however long it takes for the concussion symptoms to go down, it’ll probably be for a few days.” Nagisa didn’t respond and blankly stared ahead.   
“Are you okay, Ran-san? You don’t look like you’ve gotten enough rest.”   
“... Ah. Um… what does my schedule look like over the next few days?”   
“Did you want to visit him in hospital?”   
“... Yes.”

“Give me a moment.” Anzu turned to her computer. A few key presses and mouse clicks later, she sighed.  
“You’re pretty much fully booked during the hospital’s visiting hours for the next week and a half…”   
“...” Nagisa looked down, a defeated expression on his face.   
“Do you want to talk things out? I’m free for the next hour.” Anzu suggested.   
“... No, it’s okay.”   
“Let me know if you ever want to, I’ll be here. Also, I’m sure that Tomoe-san and Sazanami-san are just as worried, tell them about Saegusa-san’s condition, okay?”   
“... I will.”   
“Thanks.” Anzu smiled as an attempt to lighten the mood a little, but Nagisa didn’t react to it.

“... One more thing.”   
“What is it?”   
“... Can you tell Ibara not to overwork himself again?”   
“Don’t worry, I’ll drill it into him when he recovers.”   
“... It seems that he didn’t listen to me, even though he had to spend a few days away from work.”   
“A few days? He only rested for one day.”   
“... What?”   
“I was talking to him over the phone right after his day off.”

Nagisa’s eyes widened and he looked at Anzu with visible surprise.  
“... I thought I told him to rest for longer.”   
“Did that idiot really fake resting just so he could get around you and continue to work himself to the ground? I thought he’d be a master of self-care considering he’s so smart.” Anzu exhaled loudly in exasperation. Nagisa stayed silent. “Well, now I know what to do the next time I see him after he gets discharged. Thanks for telling me about that.”   
“... What will you do to him?”   
“Um… I don’t know. I think I’ll hit him.”   
“... Please don’t hit him too hard.”   
“He’s an adult. He can handle it.” 

* * *

Ibara did his best to drown out the feeling of emptiness by distracting himself, but it could only help so much. Going one day without work was one thing, but being stuck in a hospital room for days sounded like an unbearable prospect, and it really was an unbearable prospect.

One thing that bothered him immensely was his inability to remember what happened for most of that day. Ibara recalled going to work that morning, having a meeting with the other CosPro executives, and then going back to his office… everything from the afternoon onwards was a blur and the evening was a complete blank. The doctor told him not to worry as it was due to a concussion, but that didn’t stop him from being curious about what happened. The moment he tried to think hard about anything, his head hurt, and having to stop himself from thinking was making him feel like he was slowly turning into a vegetable from the lack of brain activity. He wasn’t even allowed to read, and he wished that he had cherished books like Nagisa did when he was able to read.

… Ah. _Nagisa Ran_.

Suddenly Ibara felt lonely, an ache in his chest surfacing. He wanted to check Nagisa’s schedule to see when he could expect a visit from him, but considering he didn’t have his tablet nor his phone, there was no way to contact the outside world without asking for a phone. He decided against asking Anzu as there was a danger of her suspecting that something was happening between him and Nagisa as he wouldn’t be contacting him for work reasons considering his current state. As much as she was a trustworthy party, he couldn’t take any risks. He’d get eaten alive by almost anyone if they found out that he had feelings for Nagisa.

Now that he thought about it, being in love really was like painting a big fat target on his back. Not only did that open up the possibility of people hurting Nagisa as a way of hurting him, but getting backstabbed by Nagisa was a terrifying thought. Even though the leader of Eden was a soft, gentle and loving person in general, he couldn’t completely rule out the possibility of him being used by others, just like Ibara did to him in the past.

Ibara’s chest tightened painfully, as if something had gripped onto his heart and was squeezing the life out of him, and the headache wasn’t helping either. He thought of sleeping to try and avoid this unpleasant feeling. Usually he would be tired enough that he’d fall asleep in a manner of minutes, but this time he was wide awake and he sorely wished that there was something that he could do to knock himself out instantly. Ibara resorted to thinking about something that he never thought he would ever do: he imagined that a sleepy Nagisa was there beside him, inviting him into his arms with that gentle voice of his. He imagined Nagisa’s warmth as they cuddled, the sound of him breathing softly as he fell asleep, his peaceful expression while he rested, and his chest inflating and deflating ever so slightly.

It worked.

* * *

Anzu timed her visit to the Cosmic Production offices so that she could “coincidentally” bump into him the day he was discharged. She knew that she was making a gamble and guessing that Ibara would beeline straight to his office instead of starting work the next day (it was already evening), but considering that he had been off work for several days, her gut feeling told her that he was going to try and get something done before turning in for the night. Fortunately, she was correct, though she had to stall a bit of time by having some small talk with the receptionist about the documents she was delivering.

“Ah, Saegusa-san! Welcome back, I hope you’re feeling better.” Anzu beamed. As much as she was angry that his hospitalisation happened, she was still immensely relieved that he made a speedy recovery.  
“Yes! Thank you, I’ve made a full recovery!”   
“Do you have some time? I want to help you catch up a little on what has happened while you were in the hospital.”   
“I would greatly appreciate the assistance, thank you, Producer!”

A short walk later, they arrived at Ibara’s office.  
“Wait, Saegusa-san.” Anzu said right as they walked through the door. Ibara was about to make his way to his desk, but he turned around at Anzu’s words.   
“What is it?”   
“... You said that I shouldn’t touch you suddenly, right?”   
“Ah, yes! That’s so I don’t accidentally hurt you due to my old bad habits! What of it?”   
“Then… I will warn you beforehand.” The atmosphere changed completely, and Ibara didn’t know what to make of it.

“‘I’m going to slap you.” 

Ibara could have easily reacted and caught her hand mid-flight, but in the heat of the moment, he didn’t, as even laying a hand on her could have its consequences. Anzu’s palm connected cleanly with the side of his cheek and he recoiled from the blow. The sting remained for longer than he had thought, and he stood there in stunned silence.  
“When I told you not to overwork yourself, I was speaking from personal experience! I was stuck in hospital for three days because I got sick, and I didn’t want you to be in the same position, but look at what happened. You collapsed again and got a concussion, and you couldn’t work for a week. What else needs to happen to you in order for you to learn? Do you need to fall down the stairs or something to finally realise why you need to take care of yourself?” Anzu was almost shouting, and she paused in an attempt to collect herself.   
“Ahaha, Producer, I’m healthy and alive here! Everything is okay-”

“You made Ran-san cry!”

It was as if someone had gotten a knife, stabbed it straight into Ibara’s heart, and twisted it as much as they could. Ibara usually pushed his emotions far away, in order to focus on his strategies and manipulation, but this time, a wave of guilt crashed over him and he almost drowned in it.

“You lied your way around him so that you could work again, and look at the mess you got yourself into! Ran-san came into my office every other day to talk about you because he was so worried and Tomoe-san wasn’t always around. He couldn’t visit you because of his schedule clashing with the hospital visiting hours, and I had to sit there and comfort him.” Anzu’s voice had raised initially, but it became softer as she recalled the days of handing him tissues to wipe his tears with, and braiding his hair because it was one thing that calmed Nagisa down. “... Ran-san is strong. I’m sure that he’ll bounce back, but he might not forgive you if you do this again. I don’t think it’s a good idea to push his trust.”

Ibara was still speechless. Just imagining Nagisa’s crying face hurt, and knowing that he was the one that caused it hurt more.   
“Ibara. Promise me- no, promise Ran-san that this won’t happen again. Got it?”   
“Y-yes!”   
“You’d better keep it or I’ll hit you again.” Anzu huffed. “I can’t believe I had to tell you all that just because you wouldn’t listen to him.” 

Getting hit by Anzu wasn’t really that much of a threat as he was already accustomed to being treated roughly as a child, but it was the emotions behind getting hit that Ibara wasn’t keen on facing. The person in front of him wasn’t just that little girl that stuck by her Trickstar friends anymore, she had gained a significant amount of maturity and skill as a producer over her first year at Yumenosaki High School, and now he was supposed to be in a professional relationship with her. Ibara knew that invoking her wrath was not going to end well. 

“Well, I’ll give you a rundown on some things that you missed like I said I would. I don’t work in CosPro so I won’t know everything that you need to know, unfortunately.” Anzu sighed.   
“Would you like anything to eat or drink while we talk?” Ibara gestured for her to take a seat at his desk while he made his way to his own chair.   
“I’m good, thanks. After our discussion, you’re going to the garden area.”   
“Hmm? Do I have an appointment with someone there?”   
“Yes. Ran-san wanted to see you, but he’s still in his lesson for another hour. I’m sure that he’ll be on time, so don’t keep him waiting, okay?”

\---

Nagisa was seated at the bench just like last time, but he immediately noticed Ibara’s arrival and rose to his feet. Being able to see him again sent a small wave of satisfaction through Ibara’s mind, and he broke into a run to cover the last of the distance. When he was close enough, Nagisa immediately pulled him into a hug, holding onto him like his life depended on it, and Ibara was more than willing to return the embrace. It was thinking about this warmth that got him through the days at the hospital and now that he could finally experience it again, Ibara couldn’t be happier. 

“... I missed you.” Nagisa’s voice came out constricted, and Ibara couldn’t help but hug tighter.  
“I missed you too.” 

When they finally broke the hug, Nagisa had tears in his eyes as he looked at Ibara with a smile so soft that he could feel something break inside.   
“I’m sorry.” Ibara started. Nagisa took his hand and entwined their fingers together as a response. “I promise I’ll take care of myself properly.”   
“... Really?”   
“Yes. I… I don’t want you to cry again.”   
“... So, Anzu told you.”   
“She hit me too.” Nagisa chuckled.   
“... She really did, huh? I hope it didn’t hurt too much.” The white-haired male reached up with his free hand to caress Ibara’s cheek.

“I’m fine, it’s nothing. Seeing her get angry like that was quite the sight.”   
“... You’d better keep your promise so she doesn’t get angry again.”   
“I know, I know.” Ibara smiled, holding onto Nagisa’s other hand. 

They continued conversing into the night, seated at the bench where they would usually meet. At some point, Ibara realised that Nagisa had an arm around him and he was most definitely snuggling into Nagisa, and he felt _happy_ , like everything was going to be okay as long as he had Nagisa by his side and he didn’t need anything else in life. It was as if they were in their own little paradise and that paradise was going to keep on existing as long as the two of them were together. It wasn’t a vast land of trees, flowers, fruit and everything good, it was just a garden bed here and there, a nearby light and the two of them atop a building under the moonlight.

No blushing, embarrassed “I love you”s were needed, just an indirect “I want to be with you” was more than enough. 

“... Ah, it’s getting late.” Nagisa said. For the past few minutes they had been sitting in silence, enjoying each other’s presence. Ibara didn’t know if it was because Nagisa didn’t particularly want to talk more, but he was content.  
“We should go back and get rested for tomorrow.” They locked gazes. Nagisa was _beautiful_ , Ibara didn’t know why or how he reached that conclusion but he knew that it was the truth. Maybe it was the way Nagisa looked at him with those orange eyes, or the way his wavy hair cascaded down past his shoulders, or-   
“... You’re cute.” Nagisa smiled and Ibara’s facial heat blew off the charts. There was no better way to follow up than with a kiss, but the redhead’s brain had stopped working from Nagisa’s earlier comment, so Nagisa had to be the one leaning in instead. 

The kiss was so perfect and it took all of Ibara’s willpower plus some extra to not lose himself in the moment.

“... I want to watch you cook.” Nagisa stated.  
“I usually buy all of my meals except dinner, and I eat dinner later than everyone else.”   
“... Then cook yourself breakfast tomorrow morning.”   
“Why do you want to watch me?”   
“... I want to learn how to become a better cook.”   
“You can ask Shiina-san, you know. I’m sure they won’t mind teaching you a few things, and they’re a better cook than I am.”   
“... But I want to learn from you, not from Shiina-san.”

Normally, Ibara would have found some way to escape the request, but Nagisa was being too cute and it wasn’t helping. It also didn’t help that Nagisa just wanted an excuse to spend more time with him and Nagisa wasn’t doing a very good job at hiding his true intentions.  
“Then… let’s meet at the cafeteria at 5:30AM.”   
“... Why so early?”   
“We can’t let other people see us.”   
“... Why not?”   
“I don’t usually make myself breakfast, so others might think that something is up.”   
“... Okay. I will meet you tomorrow morning. Please rest well.”

Ibara went to bed feeling nervous and excited for what was about to come.

* * *

Jun woke up ridiculously early and couldn’t go back to sleep, so he decided to start his day off with a walk. Careful not to wake up any of his dorm members, he took a shower, got changed, grabbed a bottle of water and headed out.   
“Jun-kun! Jun-kun!” A very familiar voice called out to him and Hiyori came running over to him with all the energy in the world.   
“I thought you loved getting your beauty sleep, Ohiisan.”   
“No good morning greeting? So mean!”   
“Why are you up so early anyway?”   
“I don’t know, it felt like a good day and I couldn’t sleep after waking up!”   
“Wait, same here.”   
“We must be soulmates!”

Jun began to walk away. Hiyori followed, pouting.  
“Why are you so cold, Jun-kun~?”   
“Shut up.”   
“But the weather is so nice today and-”   
“If you shut up, I’ll let you accompany me.”   
“Hmph! Fine then.” 

Hiyori really did go quiet, but it was only a matter of time before that annoying mouth of his opened again. Jun questioned why he bothered to put up with this, as if he hadn’t been asking himself the same question ever since he met Hiyori.

Time flew by and Hiyori demanded that they go to the cafeteria because he was hungry. As much as Jun wanted to argue because _holy shit_ Hiyori was so annoying, he was hungry as well. As they made their way to the kitchens, they could smell scrambled eggs and Jun’s stomach growled. He wondered who was up so early, but as he was about to round the corner that led to the kitchens, Hiyori grabbed his wrist and dragged him back.   
“What-”   
“Shh!” The green-haired male hushed Jun.   
“Why did you do that? I could have fallen over, you know!” Jun whispered.   
“You should go see for yourself.”

Hiyori peeked his head around the corner and beckoned for Jun to follow. Some distance away, Ibara was cooking while Nagisa looked over his shoulder. Some words were exchanged between the two and Ibara blushed while Nagisa smiled, and then Nagisa slipped his arms around Ibara’s waist, hugging him from behind. Ibara blushed harder, Nagisa rested his head on Ibara’s shoulder before turning to kiss his neck, and then Ibara gently elbowed Nagisa, probably in an attempt to get him off. This didn’t seem to work as the taller male didn’t move. Ibara visibly sighed as he continued to cook.

Jun had seen more than enough to know what was going on between the two, and he moved back around the corner. He was hungrier than ever, but he knew better than to intrude.   
“See? I knew they liked each other!” Hiyori whispered triumphantly. “They’re so cute together, right, Jun-kun? They’re already acting like a married couple!”   
“Yeah…” Jun didn’t match Hiyori’s level of excitement, but he didn’t know how to react to the Adam pair having this kind of relationship.   
“Jun-kun! When are you going to cook me breakfast?”   
“You’re talking as if I don’t already cook for you every day.”   
“Yes yes, but I want to hug you from behind like that next time you-”   
“No, that’s never happening.”   
“But Jun-kun…” Hiyori whined. Jun sighed. Once Hiyori wanted something, he wasn’t going to stop at anything to get it.   
“Maybe if you stop talking while I cook and there’s no one around.”

Hiyori beamed. Jun hoped he didn’t just get himself into a sticky situation.


End file.
